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Drug-Related Deaths On The Rise In Wisconsin

Sunday, December 9th, 2012 at 9:16 am

There’s a new report out that shows drug-related deaths are steadily on the rise in Wisconsin.

A study by University of Wisconsin-Whitewater epidemiologist David Nordstrom found a shift of legal prescription drug-related deaths surpassing those involving illegal narcotics. Nordstrom says deaths from the synthetic drug methadone, which is used to treat heroin addiction, rose from 10 in 1999 to 118 in 2008.

Nordstrom took a look at nearly 5,000 deaths that were certified as drug-related between 1999 and 2008. Most were accidental overdoses or suicides and the majority involved male victims with an average age of about 43.